


lean on me

by girlsarewolves



Series: treats [9]
Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), DC Extended Universe, Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: Bruises, Cuts, F/F, Femslash, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Pre-Femslash, it borders on romantic/platonic, references to other characters - Freeform, references to past Joker/Harley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsarewolves/pseuds/girlsarewolves
Summary: Harley was a mess. However long she’d been fighting off Joker before Batman showed up, he’d done a real number on her. Busted lip, black eye, few cuts drying and bruises forming - but mostly it was the emotional damage that had Dinah so pissed off.Sure, getting beat up hurt like hell. But emotional wounds? Psychological? Those took a lot longer and needed a lot more precise care. And - maybe ironically - Harley was probably more equipped to help someone out with that than Dinah was. But no way was she equipped to help herself with that, not right now.
Relationships: Dinah Lance & Harleen Quinzel, Dinah Lance/Harleen Quinzel
Series: treats [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1434862
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35
Collections: Battleship 2020, Battleship 2020 - Red Team





	lean on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatsparrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsparrow/gifts).



* * *

“He tried to kill me.”

That sentence was still causing Dinah’s blood to boil, even though it’d been a few hours since she’d opened the door to see a beaten up and bloodied Harley standing there.

There wasn’t a need to elaborate for Dinah to put the pieces together. Even if she hadn’t been watching the news of Batman hauling Joker’s pasty ass back to Arkham to start the cycle anew, she’d still have known who’d hurt Harley that bad, both on the surface and underneath.

“Come on in,” she’d told Harley, voice soft, understanding. She’d closed and locked up once Harley was in and then guided the other woman to the bathroom.

It was unnerving, watching the woman that was always so full of life and attitude - even as a drunken, broken-hearted mess at the club - whenever she was around now just numbly shuffling after her. She’d let Dinah plop her down on the toilet without a word, and hadn’t fussed or made a quip or any cheesy lines as Dinah removed enough of Harley’s clothes to start cleaning her up.

She’d just sat there, eyes unfocused and staring into the distance, moving only when told to or guided. Didn’t even wince or hiss or react at all when it got to the part that always stung. 

Harley was a mess. However long she’d been fighting off Joker before Batman showed up, he’d done a real number on her. Busted lip, black eye, few cuts drying and bruises forming - but mostly it was the emotional damage that had Dinah so pissed off.

Sure, getting beat up hurt like hell. But emotional wounds? Psychological? Those took a lot longer and needed a lot more precise care. And - maybe ironically - Harley was probably more equipped to help someone out with that than Dinah was. But no way was she equipped to help herself with that, not right now.

“What, no bad line about me getting you out of your clothes?” Dinah had finally teased, gently, unable to stand the silence.

Harley’s eyes didn’t focus, but the corner of her mouth twitched, and a soft snort escaped her. “Nah. ‘Sides, not in the mood right now.” She’d blinked then, eyes finally refocusing, coming back to the present and looking at Dinah before darting away. Something was eating away at her, and Dinah had a pretty good idea what it was.

“Listen. I’m not gonna tell you you’re a good person. But you don’t deserve the shit he does to you. And you don’t need to feel ashamed or weak, because he got to you,” she’d whispered, hand lifting to press two fingers to Harley’s temple. “I’m no Joker expert, but everybody knows he gets in people’s heads. Likes to fuck around in there. And maybe there are some people who have a right to a piece of your bleached hide, but that asshole isn’t one of them. Got it?”

Harley’d sniffled and wiped at her nose, nodding. She managed a weak, strained smile. “Got it.”

Dinah was pretty sure she hadn’t. But it wasn’t something Harley was gonna get in just one night, after one talk that followed her psychotic ex trying to murder her because she’d really started doing well for herself. 

“Where’s Cass?”

“Oh, I ditched her a while back. Left her with an old bat who would be better for her than me,” Harley waved Dinah off. “Not Bats though. I wouldn’t trust him with kids. Pretty sure he doesn’t know how to connect emotionally without turning them into mini hims, ya know?”

Dinah had snorted at that, because she was pretty damn certain Harley was on the money there. But hearing that had made Harley’s emotional state make even more sense. Whether something had spooked her into leaving Cass with the retired Batgirl who’d given Dinah and Renee and Helena some help now and then, or she’d just felt guilty dragging the orphan further into a life of crime, Harley must have been feeling isolated and lonely.

Vulnerable. 

Perfect time for said ex to swoop in and hurt her.

They’d drifted back into silence then, Dinah finally finishing up cleaning Harley and patching her up as best she could. She’d tossed a baggy t-shirt and some shorts Harley’s way - “You shouldn’t sleep in that outfit,” she’d said - and fixed up a little food for them to chow on while watching Looney Tunes. Something had told Dinah that might help.

Harley hadn’t taken long to pass out against Dinah, curled up and clinging to her like she was a damn plushie or something. But she was out, and she was calm, and Dinah just didn’t have it in her to move and take a chance of waking the other woman up yet. So there they were, on the couch, Dinah reading news updates on her cell while Looney Tunes played in the background, and Harley snored softly against Dinah’s bicep.

“He tried to kill me.”

Dinah’s jaw clenched as the words echoed in her head. She stared at the news telling her Joker had been processed and was locked up inside Arkham Asylum again, and wondered how Renee would take it if she proposed they kill Joker next time he broke out, because Batman wasn’t about to do what needed to be done.

How many people had Joker hurt, killed, manipulated, used up and discarded? They’d already taken out Roman and Zaas, why not off the clown? Or at least help Harley do it. Might be therapeutic. Could always feed the remains to Bruce. There was something ironic about that, that Dinah had a feeling Harley would appreciate, too. 

Batman might not appreciate it, but fuck that guy.

* * *


End file.
